I used to teach pilots to fly.  I'd always ask my student pilots the same question, "Do you want to be a pilot, or do you want to fly?" Most didn't get the question, so I rephrased it in the words of the immortal fighter pilot Colonel John Boyd, "Do you want to do something, or be someone?"

This is a lesson, a concept so profound, I dearly wish I had learned in my youth. If you're looking for a label, a status symbol, you will never be truly fulfilled as a human being. If, on the other hand, you are seeking a path to self-fulfillment and personal excellence, you will be a happier person. The titles and labels will occur as a result of that journey, not as a goal. I would tell my students that if they were chasing a label, I couldn't help them. If they were choosing a path that would lead to a love of flying, then I could help them along on their path.  Then I would flick my fu-man-chu  and ask them to snatch a pebble from my hands (if you got that, then you are old as dirt, too.)

The title "pilot" was just a milestone along the road, not the destination itself. So are the labels "author" or "musician" or "photographer" and why doctors use the term "practicing medicine." Attaining a title or  label always leads to the perplexing personal question, "Now what?"

Back in my Underground Book Reviews days, I once attended a writers' conference hosted by a major university, where I encountered a memorable individual. He was not a only a writer, but also an English professor.  It was his opinion there were way too many writers, most of which had no talent and wrote awful books. He felt there should be a way to keep these independent authors from publishing, because they made it more difficult for readers to find the good authors like him (of course).  He was dead serious. It never occurred to him that he may be among the ranks of those great unwashed hordes of terrible independent authors. They shouldn't have an opportunity to publish, but he should. The professor had a point, albeit a twisted one. 

Someone once said talent is cheap. My life experience teaches me this is true. My life experience also teaches me  information is cheaper.  If something is made or distributed with a click of a mouse, its cheap.  The Information Age has dramatically lowered barriers to entry for creators and artists of all genres. In other words, its made content creation cheap.  Anyone with a internet connection and a word processor can be a writer. Anyone with a smart phone and a Tik Tok account can be an influencer (whatever the hell that is).  Anyone can create. The barbarians have crashed the gate.  That means there is a lot of crap out there. Go browse Youtube and Tik Tok and you'll find crap content. You'll also find much more mediocre content. You might even find  a few gems, but you have to wade through the slush pile first. 

This is simply a fact of life in the 21st century. We are saturated by information every minute, every hour, every day. There are no more real gatekeepers for information.  If you're a writer or a musician you know this better than anyone. Writers learned this first when Amazon and Kindle came along. Now with the advent of streaming services like Spotify,  musicians have followed writers down this over-saturation path. Long gone are the days when getting published meant something.  There are still traditional publishers, but even their books are harder to sift through. There are far more books in print and digital than ever before. The title "author" is cheapened by being so common, so accessible. To this I say, so what? Because it is the act of creation that is truly precious. The experience is priceless to the writer themselves. 

It goes back to the question: Do you want to do something, or be something? The act of creation can be a reward unto itself. In fact, it MUST be the reward unto itself if one wants to endure and improve.  No one reads books to get famous, we read for pleasure and information. Writing can be the same. ​

I take my inspiration for being a writer from several musicians I know in local bands.  They practice regularly to continually improve their art, and are always striving to be better. They play in the same local club circuit to the same enthusiastic crowds.  They have day jobs to pay the bills. They play for the love of playing, for the experience of playing. Stardom isn't their goal. They are musicians, not rock stars. Create. Improve. Repeat. This is the way. This is the bedrock from which everything else springs, whether that results in commercial success, or simply your next gig or independently published short story compilation. 

Labels are cheap. Information is cheap. Talent is cheap. The journey is priceless. Do something. Embrace that something with all your heart, passion and energy. Immerse yourself in your art, and you shall transform and become something. 

#writing #creation #publishing #kindle #amazon #contentcreation #writersjourney #content  #selfimprovement #anyonecancreate 

I traveled to Troy, Alabama over the weekend to speak to the Pike County Historical Genealogical &  Preservation Society about Abandoned Wiregrass.  It was good to get back to my old college stomping grounds, though Troy has changed quite a bit since they days when I attended Troy State University. 

The Society held their meeting at the Pioneer Museum of Alabama just off Highway 231 on the north side of Troy.  I'd like to thank Dianne Smith and the rest of the members for the opportunity to speak. As I had hoped, they were a wealth of knowledge on several of the structures featured in my book and provided valuable insights on several locations. Several members provided tips regarding old and potentially historic buildings and ruins in the Pike County area. I'm excited about further exploring many of these  places.

I'm beginning to learn there is an amazing network of historical and genealogical societies scattered across Alabama, each dedicated to preserving the histories of the places the members call home.  If you are part of a historical preservation group in the Wiregrass, or just someone who knows of an interesting old ruin, please leave a comment or contact through me Facebook. 

This was also my first visit to the  Pioneer Museum of Alabama. This place is truly a Wiregrass treasure.  I strongly recommend a visit. 
​

If your organization or civic group is looking for a guest speaker I'd love to come speak about Abandoned Wiregrass.  Please contact me below of leave a comment on my Facebook. ​ 

#abandonedwiregrass #wiregrass #historical #history #TroyAlabama #Pikecountyalabama #speaking

I took a vacation. If you are reading this, thanks for coming back. 

It's been a few weeks since I checked in on the blog. I took some time off of everything...work, writing, everything. I spent a lot of time with family.  Mostly, we did nothing. When we weren't doing nothing, we did a few things. I got sick. I got better. I slept. I raked leaves. I even rode my new motorcycle a bit.  Mostly, my family just enjoyed each other's company. 

I really needed to shut down for a while, and to be honest, I wasn't quite ready to spin back up in the New Year. That includes this blog. I've had this overwhelming urge to slow down. Way down. Like "retire" slow down. Shut down. Hole up.  I've sorta tuned out of everything and just concentrated on being. At this point in my life,  a permanent slowdown isn't realistic or feasible.  So what's next?

My day job seems to take the lion's share of my time these days, but I'm working hard to make sure I carve out time for other priorities in 2022. These priorities are in no particular order, because they are all important in a different way.  Many of them are also interrelated and connected.  They sort of define my vision for the coming year. 

Writing - Finish what I started: The Chronicles of Fu XI, Book IV is 33K into the first draft, which is about 25% complete. I've re-dedicated myself to completing the task in 2022. I need to finish this, and finish strong. It's eaten too much of my life, I have to put it behind me, but I have to do it right. 

Fitness: A few years back I really got in shape (at least for me). Then I let it all go. Well, here I go again. My body is talking to me. It's tell me to take care of it or else.  Over the past 10 years writing and fitness have seemed to be mutually exclusive. Writing, when it really kicks in, takes time. Its jealous with its time, and doesn't like to surrender one minute to anything - like the gym or even a walk. It's not an excuse, its fact. Writing is obsessive. It's a compulsion, really. Now, fitness needs to be a compulsion. 

In order to bring writing and fitness into harmony, I'm going to have to do things different this time. I have to carve out time for both every day. I have to honor that time as if its sacred. I have to keep those time slots realistic and manageable. 

Family & Friends: As a family, my clan does a lot together. Now, thankfully, I have more extended family close by. This year I want make sure I'm spending more time with all of them. I also want to reforge those bonds of friendship that I might have neglected over the past year and maybe make some new friends. 

Ride: I have a new motorcycle. My incredible nephew built it for me custom from a 1993 Harley Sportster (that's what he does for a living).  I used to ride a lot in my youth, but put it away in my early 20s and never touched a bike again (family, kids, work).  Getting back in the saddle has been an amazing experience. I forgot how much I loved to ride. It reminds me of flying, but doesn't involve as much time or expense. Now that I am older and wiser, I find  that I ride "smarter" and take far less risks than I did in my youth, but seem to enjoy the experience far more.  Its simultaneously relaxing, invigorating, and an adrenaline rush. This is another reason I'm re-emphazing fitness in my life. Its FAR easier to ride a motorcycle when you're not fat. 

Photography: This is also a compulsion, but one which will have to take a back seat this year to writing. I'm still taking clients, but fewer this year.  Most of my photography will happen when riding my motorcycle, as I hope to begin my next photography book about the Wiregrass. 

Relax:  I may not be retired yet, but I've reached a point in my life I better start enjoying life to its fullest. That means more time away from the computer screen. Any screen. I'm going to put the phone down more often. If I'm going to sit down in front of a computer, it better be for work or writing, and then only tightly managed segments. It means using my work leave to go places, do things, and be with those I love. Relax is tied in with fitness, family, faith and ride. 

Faith: I don't often discuss my spiritual life here, because my faith (my relationship with Christ)  is deeply personal.   My Christian faith, however, is a part of who I am at a root level. Finishing my last two books stole time from many things, including that relationship. That's not good. Sometimes Sunday was my only time to write or power down. (And I needed to power down.) I think the Lord will understand, because he once took a whole day to power down, too  I would like to rededicate myself to my faith and my relationship with God. This ties deeply in with both family and, believe it or not, fitness. I physically FEEL better when I'm spiritual engaged. 

Gratitude: I want to step into 2022 with a sense of gratitude for those around me - family, friends, coworkers, and those kind strangers that make life a magical experience. I have this overwhelming feeling thankfulness for life's gifts. I hope this sense of gratitude brings with it peace, kindness, and joy.  I hope it curbs my temper, and kindles the fires of charity,  forgiveness and patience. 

There it is, my vision for 2022.  Thank you all for a great 2021, Happy New Year and God Bless. 

#writer #writinglife #2022 #2022goals #newyear #goals #writinggoals

A reader of my latest novel, “The Bastard Gods” made a comment about a word I used. The reader said the word “savage” was offensive. This was news to me, so I decided to look it up on Dictionary.com. Here’s what I found:

 ​Savage [ sav-ij ]
1. fierce, ferocious, or cruel; untamed: savage beasts.
2. Offensive. (in historical use) relating to or being a preliterate people or society regarded as uncivilized or primitive: savage tribes.
3. enraged or furiously angry, as a person.
4. unpolished; rude: savage manners.
5. wild or rugged, as country or scenery: savage wilderness.
6. Archaic. uncultivated; growing wild.
 
There it is, definition number 2. According to Dictionary.com the word savage has officially been declared, deemed, labeled, and designated as offensive. So what does that mean?
 
Offensive [ uh-fen-siv or, for 4, 5, aw-fen-, of-en- ]
adjective
1. causing resentful displeasure; highly irritating, angering, or annoying: offensive television commercials.
2. unpleasant or disagreeable to the sense: an offensive odor.
3. repugnant to the moral sense, good taste, or the like; insulting: an offensive remark; an offensive joke.
4. pertaining to offense or attack: the offensive movements of their troops.
noun
1. the position or attitude of aggression or attack: to take the offensive.
2. an aggressive movement or attack: a carefully planned…offensive.
 
I suppose that means “savage,” in the context of use in my novel, is repugnant in a moral sense. Well, good. It’s supposed to be. The characters who utter the word use it in its full repugnant  glory. These fictional  characters negatively describe cultures and peoples they believe are primitive and beneath them. They are complex, flawed and sometime very nasty characters, and the word is appropriately used for the situation.  Pray tell, what word would they use if not “savage”?

There was a time when the dictionary didn’t pass judgement on words, it merely explained them. When did Dictionary.com take it upon themselves to start making value judgements on words?  In fact, that’s exactly what this article from Dictionary.com does. Here’s an excerpt from the article’s opening, “…It’s very important to be mindful of words that were originally or historically used in very offensive ways. Here’s a list of words with hurtful histories that may have you thinking twice about your word choice.” What the author of this article fails to mention is most people have no clue what the ancient origins of these words are, only their modern (and benign) meaning. They weren’t considered offensive until someone went out of their way to make them offensive. Time is considered the Great Healer, and time has healed these words and phrases, making them palatable and useful. They now have different contexts which enhance and enrich the literary landscape. Their dark origins were lost and now irrelevant. What Dictionary.com has done has intentionally poisoned them. ANY word could be considered offensive, it merely takes the right situation,  context,  perception, and someone to complain loud enough. If you dig deep enough into the etymology of any word, you’re likely to find negative context in its past use or origin.
 
How does the process work?  Do the Offended take their petition before some kind of Word Tribunal, where the anxious and entitled wring their hands and tremble at each utterance of an abominable word? What power they must feel when they strike down each word and phrase! There is no power greater in the modern world than that of the Offended.  In the past, if one did not agree with a word, a thought or a book, one merely didn’t read it. Now it must be labeled and targeted for deletion.
 
“But they aren’t banning the word, they are just labeling it as offensive,” you say.  You’re right, they aren’t banning it. They are cancelling it, which is worse. If an organization like Dictionary.com publicly stated they were banning a word, there would be an outcry.  No, they merely stained it. That’s all it takes these days.  Every writer who submits a book to an editor will have their word choices questioned at best, stricken at worst. No publisher wants to get labelled as racist or “-phobic.” They don’t want hordes of Twitter denizens calling for boycotts or even worse. Platforms like Amazon will de-platform. It’s not worth it. Just go along and get along, and everything will be alright. Editors will push back and writers will self-censor. We’ve seen it before. 
 
It’s brilliant, really. If you try to ban a book, legions of activists from the right and left will descend upon you. No one bats an eyelash these days when you ban a word. It’s actually better than book banning. Words matter because words are the basic building blocks of thoughts. Words are the computer code of the sentient mind. Delete words, delete thoughts. 
 
One still has freedom of speech, but less words with which to do it. Oh, you can still theoretically use offensive words, but you will suffer the consequences. What kind of consequences?
 
Cancellation. We’ll cancel your job, we’ll cancel your book, cancel your show, cancel your reputation. We’ll dox you, de-platform you, marginalize you and perhaps threaten violence. We’ll do whatever it takes to get you to shut up. Don’t use the words if you know what’s good for you.   
 
That’s not political or intellectual discourse, that’s a threat.  Actually, no, that’s not entirely accurate. It’s only a threat until it is acted upon, then it becomes an attack. Don’t believe me? Go back and look at the definition of offensive, but this time as a noun:
 
1. the position or attitude of aggression or attack: to take the offensive.
2. an aggressive movement or attack: a carefully planned…offensive.
 
Labeling, cancelling, deleting, banning, doxing, marginalizing…these are modes of intellectual warfare and on my list of offensive words.  When words and phrases, and those who write or utter them, are destroyed under the guise of “offense,” it is a war on thought itself.  Such behavior breaks the spirit of the 1st Amendment, if not always the letter. 
 
Labeling, cancelling, deleting, banning, doxing, marginalizing…these are repugnant things in the moral sense, abhorrent to good taste; insulting.  Offensive. 
 
They are savage, as are those who practice them. 

#savage #Labeling #cancel #cancelling #cancelculture #deleting #banning #ban #doxing #dox #marginalizing #marginalize #bookburning #davechappelle #censorship #censor #snowflake #NPC #politicallycorrect 

I've just returned from several days in seclusion in the Smokey Mountains. My express purpose was to jump start Book IV in the Chronicles of Fu Xi . In that aspect, my mission was successful. The manuscript is now 30,000 words long, and the writing is coming easy.   I could have written more, but I hiked and I slept and I might have had a few adult beverages, too. Like I said, mission accomplished. 

On the way up there and back I listened to Ready Player Two on audiobook. I must say, I was disappointed. Earnest Cline was an amazing writer, and Ready Player One was a masterpiece.  I think he got lost on his second novel. By "lost", I mean "Woke." He pretty much emasculated his main character, giving more story time to a diverse set of secondary characters, who occasionally spouted the required Woke mantras scattered conspicuously about the plot to let the reader know the author "gets it".  It detracted from the plot, and didn't jive with how the characters spoke or acted in the first book. When the characters started attack Lord of the Rings because it lacked "representation", I'd had enough.  You don't go after LOTR on one page and then exploit it to carry your crappy plot on the next page.  Here's one, quit riding the skirts of the genius creators of the last half century, while simultaneously disparaging their work.   Come up with something out of whole cloth and move on.  Everything Woke turns to shit, especially literature.  Woke is an extinction-level event of the mind.

On a happier note, I started a new book on recommendation from my wife - "Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine" by Cathleen McCarron. So far, so good. I'll let you know how it turns out. 

On the side I'm working on two stand-alone manuscripts. One takes place during the 90s and is about of  Vietnam War vets looking to recapture the glory of their youth. The other is literary fiction set in South Alabama in present times. I don't like Southern literary fiction, because it's depressing, pretentious, focuses on the worst aspects of the South, and seems to play up to every stereotype Yankees have about the South. I want to write a southern literary fiction novel that reflects the south I see and live in now. I want to write about real people facing real struggles. Oh, and aliens. There has to be aliens in the book. It can still be literary fiction with aliens in it, right? Literary aliens. 

Day job has been busy, and been eating into my writing time. That's life. Gotta put food on the table and a roof over my kids heads. Still waiting for those breakthrough book sales so I can quit my job (Any day now). Regardless, it just means I'm going to have to get more efficient with my writing time. With that said, Photography Phridays is going away. I don't have time to blog twice a week. I'll keep showcasing my photography, but from time to time on the Monday edition. 

I'm looking forward to a speaking engagement tomorrow at a local book club. I'll let you all know how that goes next week. 

That's all for now, see you next week. And now a photo that has nothing to do with anything I just wrote about, but I took it on my vacation and its cool.  

In 2011 I sat in a Manhattan publisher’s office pitching my novel to several editors who were supposedly big deals in the publishing business. Everyone at the conference was trying to tie their novels into Game of Thrones, Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, or Ready Player One. My novel? Not so much. 

"Where does your manuscript fit on the book shelves?" they asked.

"Not next to Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Walking Dead or Ready Player One," I said. "Its more like Ten Commandments meets The Odyssey." Needless to say, I didn't land a fat publishing contract that week. 

I can’t remember her name, but one publisher from that conference stands out in my memory. All the female authors who were pitching their novel to her were warned not to show too much cleavage in her presence.  I had no cleavage, so I felt confident going in (though I can’t make that claim today).  She listened to my pitch with a dour expression, like she had to pass a kidney stone, and then asked me if my novel (Black Sea Gods) was going to be a series. 

“Three or four novels,” I replied. “The first novel is complete, the second well underway.”

“Too ambitious for a new author,” she scoffed, and summarily dismissed me. And thus ended my attempt to get The Chronicles of Fu Xi traditionally published. 

Every new word added to the Chronicles of Fu Xi, Book IV’s manuscript is a blow against Anti-Cleavage Lady. Take that, mammary hater! Sometimes that moment in New York drives me onward, just to prove her wrong. 

Actually, she was probably right. I should have started my writing career on something a little less ambitious, and a lot more commercially viable. If I wanted a traditional publishing contract, a historical fantasy, set in central Asia, and bordering on literary fiction probably wasn’t the place to start. Not that any of that matters now, I’m committed. The Chronicles of Fu Xi, Book IV is well underway. This story must be told. 

I completed 2000 words this weekend and two more chapters in the can. That brings the word count to 22,000. The writing is coming easier now, and it isn’t. When I write, I have Books I-III open on my desktop, plus The Golden Princess, trying to avoid plot holes. It’s a Herculean effort to keep characters straight, events lined up, and everything in sync.  I think it’s working. I’m back in the groove. Regardless, it's ambitious, to say the least. Anti-Cleavage Lady's warning echoes in my mind. 

One major change came out of this weekend’s efforts…I’ve changed the last novel’s title. It was going to be “The Children of Fu Xi”, but I’ve ditched that. That title was suggested many years ago by an editor, and I kept it in my back pocket. I’m not going to divulge the new title until the publication date approaches. However, it ties the final novel back to the first novel and sounds great. 

That’s all I have for today. I’ve got to keep my energy focused on the writing. However, if you haven’t picked up the series, you really should. There are three ways to start:

First, you can get copy of Black Sea Gods, the first installment in the series, Second, you can buy a copy of the prequel, The Golden Princess. If you really want a treat, get the Audible copy of The Golden Princess, narrated by the BBC’s Philip Battley. You will not regret it, he sounds great. 

I’ll see you later this week for another installment of Photography Phriday. 

***
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If you enjoyed this blog, please like the post and leave a comment or if you're feeling brave, share it on social media. This platform is my entire advertising budget and is how I share the word on my books. Also visit my Facebook, my author page and check out my photography book from America Through Time, "Abandoned Wiregrass: The Deepest South's Lost and Forgotten Places." ​

#books #blackseagods #writing #philipbattley #audiobooks #epic #fantasy #epicfantasy

I've finally started on the road to audiobook for both THE GOLDEN PRINCESS and BLACK SEA GODS. I've been hesitant to do so up to this point for several reasons. First of all, I didn't know how it all worked and I naturally fear change. Second, I didn't have the time to figure it out because I naturally fear work. Third, I knew it was likely to be expensive and I naturally fear spending money. 

With the help of government-funded therapy  I've licked the first two hurdles. I've made some time to research the process, and asked the opinions of  some smart people who have travelled this road ahead of me.  I listened carefully to what they said, which was for me to give up writing and  remember what it was like to live again. ​I told them I don't remember the taste of strawberries and they should get bent. 

But I digress.

So...I've chosen a production company and narrowed down the list of potential narrators. By the way, I've also chosen a private jet and a villa in the Swiss Alps for, you know, when all the money starts rolling in. I did, however, run some figures and come up with a basic budget for making an audio book. There is only one small problem...how to pay for it all.

Its good to have a budget.  Its even better to have money. Scratch the villa and the private jet and focus on the audio book and how to pay for it. 

Option 2: Pay with cash from my day job. That money is already budgeted for real-life stuff, like food and kid stuff and air conditioning. Like many authors, I do not have much excess cash to spend on writing. On that note, people often liken writing to having a mistress. I strongly disagree.

Other than being demanding and expensive like a mistress, they have nothing in common. A mistress is  (optimally) sexy, and (usually) a secret.  A mistress should also make you feel better (at least temporarily).

(BTW, what the hell do you call a male version of mistress? A misteress? If a lesbian has a mistress, is she still a mistress?  If a gay man has a mistress, is he a Mister Misteress?)

I digress yet again.

Writing, on he other hand, is just demanding and expensive. 
​
No, writing is less like a mistress and more like an old college buddy who is out of work and staying for "just a few days" until "he can catch a break."  Your spouse knows all about him because he lives on her couch and she hates his guts and keeps asking when he is moving out because its time to move on and he is eating all the food and leaves beer cans all over the floor and scratches himself in from of the kids and the toilet won't flush and where the hell is the cat...

Did I do it again? I did, didn't I? Back to the topic.

Option 3: Sell one of my kidneys. I'm not sure either kidney is working at 100% capacity anymore.

Option 4: Sell one of your kidneys. Wanna go grab a drink? Ah, never mind. It's too much of a hassle to keep all that ice in the motel bathtub. Last time I tried it, my Chinese blackmarket connection said I removed the spleen, not the kidney. I didn't get paid and was out like, 40 bucks for all the ice and whiskey. The incident did, however, convince my  old college buddy to move out. 

Option 5: Crowdfunding. Crowd funding is a great idea for some things, like raising money for legal fees and getting former friends a new spleen. But getting the cash to fund an audio book does not qualify, at least in my mind, as justification to ask people for money, even if I give them something in return, like a slightly used spleen. I make no judgements on others who do so, but for me it feels like begging. ​

Option 6: Hold a telethon. Unfortunately, no one under 40 knows what the hell a telethon is.

Option 9: Lit Funding. Otherwise known as selling enough books to pay for the audio  version. With the exception of all the other options I've listed, this the most realistic avenue to funding my audiobook. I've lit funded a cover or two. I've lit funded a lunch or two. But an audio book is another matter.   

In order to make this happen I have to do some math. Since I don't like public math, I'm going to pull the curtain...I'll be right back. 

(whisper whisper carry the eight whisper whisper seven to the eighth power whisper whisper E equals Eminem squared whisper whisper....)

I'm back. In order to pay for an audio version my latest novel I will have to sell 2,342 ebooks. That's just  a teency weency (pinches fingers centimeter apart for effect) bit more books than I usually sell, like a 2430% increase in monthly sales.  

No problem.

Bottom line, one way or another I'll find a way to finance the audio versions of my novels. Its just going to take patience and a reckless disregard for the law.   In the meantime,  you can help my buying or renting my novels on Amazon. Every little bit helps.  If you've already read them, please rate or review them on Amazon. Believe it or not, the number of reviews on Amazon greatly helps in book sales. If you've already bought and reviewed my novels, please spread the word. 

If you've already done all this, thank you! I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate it. In fact, we should go out for a drink to celebrate. Say, I'm just curious, do you have both kidneys?

***

Brian L. Braden is the author of three fantasy novels: THE GOLDEN PRINCESS, BLACK SEA GODS AND TEARS OF THE DEAD.